“It would destroy us.” Atlanta-area creator sues US over possible TikTok ban

“We found something that works for us,” said Tran, who lives in Chamblee. “(A ban) would destroy us and we would have to start all over again.”

The lawsuit comes about three weeks after President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act, which requires Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its stake within 12 months. If the company does not sell to a government-approved buyer during this period, TikTok would be banned from U.S. app stores and web hosting services.

The eight creators at issue come from diverse professions, political backgrounds and regions of the country, and are “united in their vision that TikTok offers them a unique and irreplaceable way to express themselves and form a community,” says the complaint, reported for the first time by several national outlets.

Other creators include a cattle rancher from Texas, a recent college graduate from Charlotte who educates his followers about social justice issues, and a baker from Memphis.

TikTok is one of the most active social platforms in the world. About 170 million Americans use TikTok every month, and more than a billion worldwide.

For years, U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns that TikTok and ByteDance could provide sensitive information about their users to the Chinese government. In 2020, former President Donald Trump ordered the ban of TikTok and another Chinese app WeChat from US app stores. The following year, Biden withdrew the measure, while ordering a national review of security concerns posed by apps with ties to “foreign adversaries.”

Interested buyers have emerged. Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Shark Tank personality Kevin O’Leary and billionaire Frank McCourt have all separately expressed interest in lining up partners to buy TikTok.

Desiree Hill, a creator who runs a mobile mechanic and auto repair shop in Conyers, says she owes her business’s success to TikTok.

Credit: Désirée Hill

Credit: Désirée Hill

After she and her son began repairing and reselling older cars, she began posting videos on the app in 2020 to document their work. The content took disabled.

Hill, who is not a party to the lawsuit, began receiving calls from people as far away as Alabama and South Carolina asking her to fix their cars. Her business tripled in one year, a feat she wasn’t able to accomplish when she was simply advertising on Facebook.

About nine months ago, she opened her first brick-and-mortar repair shop and has since hired six mechanics, two of whom found her through the app. It’s called Crown’s Corner Mechanics. She also began renting space in her building to other businesses.

For Tran, owner of Hill and Love & Pebble, TikTok isn’t just a platform to sell products. It is a way to interact directly with customers.

“I’m able to reach people who wouldn’t normally think they need a mechanic,” Hill said. “I show them that I know what I’m doing, here’s the proof. Here’s what happened when this vehicle arrived.

Hill says a ban on TikTok could be detrimental to his business. She said she would have joined the trial if she could.

“You don’t go to the mechanic like you go to the hairdresser. People won’t continue to come every two weeks to keep our income afloat. I won’t be able to reach people,” Hill said.